Rachel Dalrymple wrote:

The Public Infrastructure Act allows for low-cost funding for parks, roads, infrastructure, and water via investment groups, companies, etc. Traditionally, cities and neighborhoods funded by PIDs are developed in bits and pieces as the money for the infrastructure becomes available. 

So far, Utah is becoming a hotbed for such spots thanks to the work of investment group, Piper Sandler. Working with local government and real estate developers, the group has financed over $331 million for public infrastructure developments in Utah. 

“The idea behind the tool is to allow for better master planning and the ability to cover significant infrastructure costs from the beginning of planning,” says Benj Becker, VP of Piper Sandler’s Special District Group in Utah. “So that allows you to do things like better infrastructure, more parks, better quality of life characteristics, a greater focus on a variety of housing types, and better attention to design.”

Becker explains how large amounts of funding early in the development process allowed for better planning of Daybreak, Utah, which was funded upfront by Kennecott. While Daybreak was not funded through a PID, PIDs, like the ones Piper Sandler is funding, will hopefully make more master-planned communities possible by allowing easier access to low-cost funding.

“[Daybreak] was able to have better planning for streets, sidewalks, walking trails, and parks,” says Becker. “That initial master planning and consideration for multiple unit types and unit sizes were made possible because of its deeper pockets upfront to do infrastructure work and master planning.”

Simply said, if companies choose to invest in a PID, they can help fund better public infrastructure developments like Daybreak, and they could help create better cities for their employees to live in.